Good contractor found (NATE/BPI), but need 2nd opinion on Trane or Coleman. Thank you

Welcome to HVAC-Talk.com, a non-DIY site and the ultimate Source for HVAC Information & Knowledge Sharing for the industry professional! Here you can join over 150,000 HVAC Professionals & enthusiasts from around the world discussing all things related to HVAC/R. You are currently viewing as a NON-REGISTERED guest which gives you limited access to view discussions

To gain full access to our forums you must register; for a free account. As a registered Guest you will be able to:

Participate in over 40 different forums and search/browse from nearly 3 million posts.

Good contractor found (NATE/BPI), but need 2nd opinion on Trane or Coleman. Thank you

My parents have a two story home in North New Jersey, ~2250 sq. ft. living space (1500 top/750 ground floor) built 1982 with central heating. The A/C was added in 83 and both need to be replaced. After months of searching, I finally found a good contractor who is willing to do a Manual J and a static pressure test.

I was a Trane dealer so you know what my first reaction is.
That is not the point though,the contractor you pick is the point.Go with his advise.
I think that with the effenciency of the newer equipment everyone should go with a much better filtering system to protect the equipment

Thanks for the response. I am leaning towards the Trane myself but I am just not sure which would be the more reliable system overall. I have been lied too by so many unscrupulous HVAC installers. Anyway, I value the advice given by contributors on this forum.

I guess before Nate and BPI ever arrived on the scene, all previous installations in this Country just really sucked, no one had a clue. I just don't understand, I guess some folks just like to pay more money for certifications, because no doubt, no one without these certifications has a clue, that would be like, what? 98% of the rest of us.

__________________________________________________ _______________________
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards". -Vernon Law-

Bill, I agree certification is meaningless if the contractor is incompetent and by no means did I limit myself to contractors that were certified by whatever.

Twilly, I'd love to go Rheem but none of my Rheem estimates were willing to size the furnace properly. They just seamed to pull out a random number ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 btu based on experience.

So I have to chose between the aforementioned Trane and Coleman systems.

Twilly, I'd love to go Rheem but none of my Rheem estimates were willing to size the furnace properly. They just seamed to pull out a random number ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 btu based on experience.

So I have to chose between the aforementioned Trane and Coleman systems.

Heck just use the Manual J you already have, and give the sizes to the Rheem guy, seems like everyone else does this, it just happened to us. It's getting nasty out yonder, even the reputable folks here are cutting throats, must be a lot of starving businesses out there. Maybe they should not hire so many techs during the summer, and they would not have to worry about keeping everyone feed in the winter, by crooked business practices. Just venting, I am done now.

__________________________________________________ _______________________
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards". -Vernon Law-

Bill, I wouldn't do that to a good contractor, if I can find one. I'm an honest guy. Guess where I finish? lol Anyway, the contractor will only do a load calc if he gets the job. He explained to me that its time consuming and there's nothing stopping me from doing what you described. I appreciated his candor. Another, carrier contractor offered to do a load calc for a deposit that would be credited toward the install. When push came to shove I get a one page printout dated several years back telling me to measure my windows and which direction my house faces then return it to him. Originally, he wanted to do the calc after the install lol. Luckily I was able to cancel the check.

Tech, If memory serves he thought a 3 ton would do the job, not sure about furnace, but would go down to 2.5 if load calc called for it.